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Whether you call it “Curbside Pickup” or “Click and Collect to Car,” it’s time to get it right
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Early movers to the curb saw shoppers respond in a big way
SECTION ONE
Getting it right at the curb
SECTION TWO
How Aptos can help you get it right
SECTION THREE
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An Aptos iPaper
of Brits said that once things were back to normal they would use click and collect to car for online orders more than they had before
Source: Zingle
Shoppers everywhere now expect the flexibility to pick up at the curb
of Americans surveyed said brands should continue to offer options like curbside pickup
40%
87%
While the service has different names depending on where you live, there is no doubt that the pandemic has made picking up orders from your car popular with shoppers everywhere:
Source: Qudini
And retailers in nearly every category have responded by offering shoppers options to collect orders from their car.
In 10 of the 14 merchandise categories tracked by leading research firm Digital Commerce 360, 50% or more retail chains offered curbside pickup by early 2021.
Early 2020
Mid 2020
Early 2021
Percentage of top 1,000 retail chains offering curbside pickup
6.6%
8.1%
50.7%
Source: Digital Commerce 360
Picking up in the car is certainly popular with shoppers, but is it the best use of all the store space it requires to pick, pack and stage?
Today, 77% of retailers plan to section off in-store space dedicated to curbside pickup and click-and-collect services.
An Aptos iPaper | Curbside Pickup
Source: Supply & Demand Chain Executive
And those who got it right were rewarded with loyal shoppers who spent more
Source: Medallia
The 5 top-rated curbside experiences during festive period 2020 saw a 165% increase in Net Promoter Scores, and a 225% increase in average transaction size compared to holiday 2019.
Retailers worldwide are on pace to allocate one-third of their store space to eCommerce fulfillment by 2023.
Source: Retail Dive
77%
Meanwhile, for those who didn’t execute as well at the curb, shoppers didn’t come back nearly as often
Customers who had a great experience at the curb returned to those stores 7 more times during the holidays while those that had less than stellar curbside experiences only returned 1.4 times.
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British home goods retailer Dunelm delivers over 2,500 orders a day to the curb at over 170 stores
Dunelm
Dick’s Sporting Goods saw 2020 BOPIS sales increase 350% over 2020
Dick's Sporting Goods
One-hour click and collect – including curbside – now accounts for 20% of all online orders at Pets at Home in the UK
Pets at Home
In Q2 2020, Target increased pick-up sales by 60% and Drive Up sales by an incredible 700%+
Target
Source: Barilliance
Source: Internet Retailing
Source: Esri
Source: JRNI
We have seen retailers experimenting with creative ways to increase the revenue per visit. Here are a few examples we found interesting:
How to fast-track improvements at the curb? Invest in order management technology
Ensuring orders are placed only for inventory that is in stock Managing the flow of orders only to stores that have staff capacity to pick, pack and deliver to the curb Assigning, tracking and monitoring the progress of every order as the stores attempt to fulfill them Identifying and escalating any exception conditions so they can be addressed and communicated in a timely manner Measure and evaluate the performance of each store to constantly improve the curbside experience
Once you’ve mastered getting orders to the curb, now is the time to get creative
When customers stay in their cars and don’t come into the store, opportunities for add-on sales are, of course, limited.
5 keys to making the curb a great option for your customers
Clearly, shoppers continue to expect excellent experiences at their cars, and the opportunities to earn their loyalty are significant…if, and only if, you execute the entire experience to their liking. So, what exactly, needs to be done to meet their expectations? Here are 5 keys to delivering exceptional pickups at the curb:
Each of these steps are essential to developing an efficient and reliable pickup operation that is convenient and seamless for your customers. And while there are no true shortcuts, upgrading your order management technology can certainly help get better experiences on the fast track:
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Putting pop-up canopies within the carpark that stock items from high-demand categories, as an electronics retailer did when they offered batteries from a canopy on the sidewalk
Designing special offers and discounts on related items offered once the order is picked up
Partnering with complimentary retailers to work on curbside together and cross-promoting the service (and items from both brands) to customers
The bottom line? Getting it right at the curb is critical to the top line
Shoppers have now become very accustomed to having options for picking up orders from their car. They are rewarding those who do it well, and choosing not to return to those who don’t. Clearly, the time to get it right at the curb is right now.
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Provide your shoppers with reliable pickup options, based on accurate inventory and store associate capacity. List the available pickup locations and timeslots, based on inventory location, store hours and capacity. This is where real-time inventory is key! Once a customer chooses their pickup option, and completes online checkout, they should receive a digital order confirmation containing their order details.
1. Choosing a pickup order
Schedule item picking, prepping and loading with customer arrival – to ensure efficient, on time handoff, orders should be ready to go when the customers arrive. This prevents curbside congestion and ensures the optimal efficiency for staging and pickup staff. Real-time tracking can help coordinate timing between the incoming vehicle and the available parking spaces and store associate.
2. Item Preparation
Allocate parking spots to match the maximum number of arrivals at any given time. This reduces potential congestion in the pickup area.
3. Designate parking spots
Automate, automate, automate. Streamline the curbside handoff process through automated customer check-in and applications that enable store staff to easily identify the relevant order.
4. Automate the process
Make sure that your curbside service is completely contactless; customers should be directed to exactly where they need to park their car, and be told how to pay (if required). Store teams should know exactly which vehicle they need to find and load the order into – with no contact between them. Omnichannel processes really come into their own here, enabling a contactless curbside pickup. Curbside staff can confirm proof of delivery via photos, which they can send directly to the customer, as well as to operational managers. You can then track and measure the performance of each physical location.
5. Contactless service
Aptos Order Management: Helping you keep your promises at the curb
Aptos Order Management is uniquely designed to ensure that every store order, whether it be shipped from the store, picked up inside the store, or delivered to the curb, exceeds your customers' expectations:
Aptos is the largest provider of enterprise software focused exclusively on retail. Our cloud-based Singular Retail™ solutions are trusted by over 1,000 retail brands in over 65 countries. With industry-leading omnichannel commerce and merchandise lifecycle management solutions, we help retailers develop dynamic and responsive assortments, streamline operations and deliver integrated, seamless experiences… wherever shoppers choose to engage. More than 1,300 colleagues share our collective passion for engaging customers differently, and we are committed to developing relationships built on trust and tangible value by partnering with our clients to create agile retail enterprises that are built to thrive in an era of constant change. Learn more at aptos.com
About Aptos
Set the right expectations from the very beginning, and create a plan of what you will do if you miss a deadline. Your customers expect clear, consistent updates about when they will receive their products. If you can’t deliver that, then don’t risk the damage to your brand. But if you can, then use this as an opportunity to keep your customers happy. As long as you can deliver on your brand promise (making things right when you miss a deadline), you will keep your customers satisfied.
2. Manage expectations and stay in communication with your customers
If you work with a delivery partner, you’ll want to make sure that they prioritize your customers the same way that you do. You essentially want them to be an extension of your brand. If you don’t feel like they offer the same care and attention as you, then find another company to work with that does. Because your customers will judge the quality of their experience based on all touchpoints, including delivery.
3. Vet your partners
If you’re going to achieve sustained competitive advantage, you’ll need a clear strategy when it comes to fulfillment. Will you be picking and packing from a few dedicated stores? Or are you equipped to consider a micro-fulfillment system—where parts of your stores are used to fulfill orders using automation? Will you be able to arm your store associates with mobile technologies to help them pick and pack, and also be able to check real-time inventory status? What support will be required from a corporate perspective? These are all questions you should consider.
4. Design a strategy that works for your brand and your customers
This may sound self-serving, but there’s no other way to ensure consistent, reliable and repeatable same-day deliveries. You’ve simply got to have an integrated, smart order management system in place to source, route, delegate, track and communicate the status of every delivery to every stakeholder—be they store associate, corporate associate or customer.
5. Invest in order management technology
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Supporting over 35 unique customer use cases, including 19 that involve the store Real time inventory management ensures you only make promises you can keep Order routing aligns the volume of curbside orders to each store’s capacity to fulfill them Measuring and evaluating ensures each order is fulfilled on time so you can meet each shopper at their car on time, every time
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